The race for a coronavirus treatment is fanning fears of 'vaccine nationalism'
Mounting geopolitical tensions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic have sparked concerns about the rising threat of vaccine nationalism, which may hamper international efforts to cooperate on deploying an effective treatment.
With experimental vaccine trials rapidly progressing in countries that include China, the U.S., Canada and the U.K., expectations are growing that a COVID-19 cure can be made available as early as 2021 if not sooner for emergency use. AstraZeneca (AZN), Moderna (MRNA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Sanofi (SNY) and Pfizer (PFE) are among those spearheading the more than 100 efforts to field a vaccine candidate.
In recent days, China has vowed to deploy a potential vaccine as a global public good that would be accessible and affordable. Toward that end, the World Health Organization also laid out principles to encourage collaboration and information sharing on a COVID-19 treatment.
Yet there are both political and practical considerations surrounding vaccine development, including where a successful treatment will be made, and how quickly the process could be scaled to dose billions of people worldwide. Save to mention the fact that it usually takes years for a candidate to come to market in the first place.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/race-for-coronavirus-treatment-fanning-fears-of-vaccine-nationalism-101654417.html